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The Attainment of the Supernatural

In his treatise 'A Contribution to the Critique of Hegel's Philosophy of Right', written in 1843, Marx states the following:

The foundation of irreligious criticism is: Man makes religion, religion does not make man. Religion is, indeed, the self-consciousness and self-esteem of man who has either not yet won through to himself, or has already lost himself again. But man is no abstract being squatting outside the world. Man is the world of man – state, society. This state and this society produce religion, which is an inverted consciousness of the world, because they are an inverted world. Religion is the general theory of this world, its encyclopaedic compendium, its logic in popular form, its spiritual point d’honneur, its enthusiasm, its moral sanction, its solemn complement, and its universal basis of consolation and justification. It is the fantastic realization of the human essence since the human essence has not acquired any true reality. The struggle against religion is, therefore, indirectly the struggle against that world whose spiritual aroma is religion.

Religion is the grammar of spirituality. It's the social and cultural  expression and organisation of spiritual practices. The problem stems from the very limitations of language whereby spiritual truths resist being articulated. As human societies become more complex, the religious expressions they produce become more complex and in order to find a place in the structure, they must be anchored with non- negotiable dogmas. Refusal to believe  and adhere to these dogmas is simply out of the question and the consequences tend to be punishment in this world and the next one. 



Therefore, spiritual practices in complex societies had to be regulated, first because of the subversive potential resulting from ritualistic behaviour and magical thinking existing as an unknown entity outside of the control of the authorities and secondly in order to anchor these supernatural beliefs to the material world, this is, to create a connection between the superstructure and the substructure. 

In the case of organised religions, the imposition of dogmas, taboos and a whole system of moral debits and credits is insidious but perhaps necessary for self preservation. 


Since the advent of positivism and rationalism, contemporary man seeks to recover his lost spirituality. For this, he typically resorts to religion. But religion can also be a dead end. No religion can in itself offer all the answers. Most religions are mutually exclusive. Most so called religious persons are concerned about the exoteric aspect of their religion and worry about the outward, external appearance. This is the cosmetics of theology. 


In order to trascend the dogmas and the cultural baggage that are attached to religion, one must pierce through all this legalistic domain and return to the spiritual practices. Spirituality consists in the attainment and or knowledge of the supernatural. In the context of positivism, this attainment could be referred to as a metanoia. It can only be achieved through practical means. The Shaman is an extreme example of this. 

The Christian of the future will be a mystic. 
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